In semiconductor substrate processing, the trend towards increasingly smaller feature sizes and line-widths has placed a premium on the ability to mask, etch, and deposit material on a semiconductor substrate with greater precision. As semiconductor features shrink, device structures become more fragile. Meanwhile, the killer defect size, defined as the particle size which renders the device non-functional, becomes smaller and more difficult to remove from the surface. Consequently, reducing device damage is one of the major drivers in the development of cleaning processes. As a result, this trend towards increasingly smaller feature sizes has placed a premium on the cleanliness of semiconductor manufacturing processes including the chamber component parts used in such processes.
Cleaning processes may be performed on chamber subcomponents and replacement parts either at the customer site or at the primary semiconductor manufacturing facility. Determining the cleanliness of the subcomponents and replacement parts may be performed as a separate operation prior to installation. The determination of cleanliness may involve cleaning and qualification performed in separate equipment or even separate facilities. This often undesirably involves transferring the article from a cleaning tool into a separate analysis tool. The sample may even be transferred to a separate facility or a separate company to perform analysis involved in qualification.
There is a need for an improved apparatus and process for cleaning chamber component parts that provide improved removal of particle contaminants from chamber parts while significantly reducing any delay until the chamber part is qualified for end-use.